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MED KIT
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Any serious adventure motorcyclist should have some emergency supplies with them. Because let's face it, riding a motorcycle is dangerous, and you never know what will happen.
But even off the road, this Surviveware First Aid Kit has proven useful for us. It's small, light-weight, and was perfect for wrapping up Marisa's leg after she fell in Colombia and scraped her shin straight to the bone. We make sure we keep it in a place on the motorcycle that we can access if the bike were to fall, such as in the back bag. |
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Besides all the bandages and wrappings provided, we've added a few items to the kit such as Neosporin, and for our Africa trip, malaria tests (they were easily purchased in large cities out there).
I also carry a tiny med kit in my backpack so that when we go hiking, we still have a few bandages with us. And that has also been useful over the years. |
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MEDICINES
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These medicines have saved us on more than one occasion and we would not go anywhere without them:
Antibiotics - The following antibiotics are often prescribed for travelers. Of course, we're not doctors, so talk to your doctor to see if these will be good for you. Ciprofloxacin - Great for food poisoning and other gastro infections we all seem to get while traveling. Azithromycin - If your Cipro is not working (probably because it's overused), try this one. This is what Marisa took to cure her of pneumonia in Colombia. |
Doxycycline - Many foreigners take this in Africa as a malaria preventative, and it's 90% effective for that. Its most common major side effect is sensitive skin, so if you do take it, don't go out unprotected in the sun. Since it's an antibiotic, it can also treat other infections, and is useful outside of Africa too.
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General Medications - IBProfen, Aspirin, DayQuil and NyQuil pills, antihistamine.
Malaria Cure (Africa Only) - If you're doing any serious amount of camping in Africa, it's recommended to carry a malaria cure with you. This is not so you can self-medicate, because there are several malaria strains and you'll need to go to a doctor no matter what to get the right prescription. This is only for if you're camping far away from civilization, you get sick, you test positive for malaria (because of course you're carrying malaria test kits with you), then you start a course of pills just as a precaution before you get to the doctor. |
Bilharzia Pills (Africa Only) - Bil... what? If you're going to Malawi to swim in the lake, or any lake in surrounding countries, you'll need these pills. You take them several weeks after you've last swum in a body of fresh water. The pills are not fun to take, but getting Bilharzia is even worse. I've met many travelers who have gotten it and have hated every moment of it. Bilharzia is no joke.
S.O.S. SATELLITE MESSENGER
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Having some form of satellite device can be life saving, but if that's not enough to get you excited about it, they also have a lot of other great uses. GPS messengers can be used to record your GPS position, send messages to friends and family from anywhere in the world (even from places without cell reception), get weather updates, and most importantly, to send for emergency rescue when needed.
Still Our Favorite - We have the Garmin inReach Explorer+, and we love it. This device has never faltered even in the rain, heat, and cold. And after 5 years of use, it still has a long battery life! We use it every single day we're on the road to track our location (it sends a ping every 10 minutes), and our plan includes 40 custom messages a month, and unlimited preset messages. The preset messages are perfect for telling our parents each evening that we're safe and settled down for the night. The message also sends out a map detailing our exact location. Needless to say, Marisa's mother loves this device, as it gives her peace of mind. |
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The Garmin inReach also has an S.O.S. button that you can hit at any time, from any place, and it will send a search and rescue team to you (really just a rescue team since they'll already know your location). They will then bring you to a hospital of your choosing. Now, that's not going to be cheap by any means, but it might save your life. Just knowing that button is there makes the journey a little less stressful for us.
One of my favorite things about our Garmin inReach is that it tracks where we go on a digital Google Map. Sometimes I don't even know where we've been that day, so it's great to look back and see all the incredible places we've traveled to, and to draw that line across the map. Also Good (So We've Heard) - Another popular satellite brand is SPOT, which offers cheaper devices that maybe don't do it all, but it'll have the features that you want it to do. For example, if you just want to track your bike, you can get a little GPS device only for that. |
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MOTORCYCLE THEFT PROTECTION
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Even though we've ridden through many countries across the world, the only time someone tried to steal our bike was in our own backyard in the US. Thankfully, they were unsuccessful. But it just goes to show that it's important to take precautions against theft no matter where you are.
When I have to leave the bike, I put a Grip Lock on the break lever so no one can push it from where I left it. The lock is brightly colored. and is a cheap deterrent that can help prevent your bike from being stolen. |
PERSONAL PROTECTION
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When we first started our trip, people in the States who learned that we were going to ride a motorcycle through Mexico and Central America would frequently ask us, "Are you going to bring a gun?" Since it is illegal to transport a firearm across international borders, that's not something that we would do.
But that didn't mean that we had never thought about what we would do if we were robbed or attacked. I've heard of motorcycle travelers who bring machetes with them for protection, though I'm pretty sure it would do more harm to me than good. So we've come up with other ideas. Pocket AlarmFor less than $10, we got this Sabre Personal Safely Alarm that Marisa keeps attached to her purse. When you pull the pin out, a 120 dB siren sounds the alarm. We've tested it (and it's loud), but have thankfully never had to use it. Plus, this thing is perfect for traveling on planes or into buildings where you go through security.
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Pepper SprayOnce we got to South Africa, and knowing we weren't going to be on a plane for a while, we purchased a compact bottle of keychain pepper spray. Obviously we had to be careful where we brought this, but it really was the perfect defense against both human attacks, and animal attacks. And for camping in Africa, that's very important. Thankfully, we never had to use it.
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Bear Spray
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For our Alaska trip, we got a can of bear spray. It's similar to pepper spray in its composition, but the bottle is much bigger because it's meant to be shot at an object as far as 30 feet away (~ 10 meters).
Again, we are very thankful that we never had to use it. But it put me a little bit more at ease every night to have this bottle beside me as I camped. |
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Also to keep in mind, we have been sponsored by the brands listed here and in the footer below. Of course, we try to be as honest about their products as we can be, and we would never promote anything that we did not genuinely like.
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